The Unconventional Actors of B’Town

The unconventional actors of Bollywood : Bollywood has always been ruled by Khans, Kapoors, Bachchans and other glamorous and high profile actors. The leading league either belongs to a high profile family or are the son / daughter / relative of someone known in Bollywood or have been the established models in the previous career.

Apart from the above listed actors there are some actors who are known because of their acting skills and struggle they have gone through. They have not inherited acting from any relative rather it is the result of the hard work they have put in. These are trained actors who have worked in theatres and earned the reputation.

Vinay Pathak:

Pathak started off with bit roles before being noticed for his role in the comedy Khosla Ka Ghosla. Soon after that, his stellar performance in the comedy Bheja Fry won him raves reviews and that year’s Filmfare Best Comedian Award. He is known as a new revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre.

Konkona Sen Sharma :

Daughter of famous film maker Aparna Sen Sharma, Konkona made her debut as a child artist in the year 1983 at the age of 4 in Tamil movie named Indira. She made her adult debut in Bengali thriller Ek Je Aachhe Kanya (2000). She received National Film Award for Best Actress for the film Mr. & Mrs. Iyer directed by her mother in 2002 and it was just the beginning.

Rajat Kapoor :

He has been an actor, a model and a director. He forayed into Bollywood by playing Preity’s Mahesh Uncle in 2001’s super hit Dil Chahta Hai. His popular roles include Corporate, Bheja Fry and Khoya Khoya Chand. He has directed Mixed Doubles, Raghu Romeo and Mithya to critical acclaim. He is also remembered for playing a letch in Monsoon wedding. He maintains a low profile and hosts a show on NDTV Lifestyle called Lounge, discussing socially relevant issues. He usually does movies with Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey.

Chitrangada singh :

She debuted in Sudhir Mishra’s 2003 film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. So far she made her appearance in three films only. The first being Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003), second being Kal : Yesterday and Tomorrow (2005) and third being Sorry Bhai (2008). In 2010 she will be appearing in Dhruv where she is playing the role of a power broker.

Nandita Das :

She is known as the ‘Smitha Patil’ of today. By far her best performance and latest movie, ‘Nallu Penangal'(Four Women) tells the story of 4 sisters struck by poverty and how they struggle through life. She has also acted in many regional films and tried her luck in Bolllywood. Her bollywood movies consist of ‘Aks’ opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She also acted in Gurindar Chadda’s ‘Provoked’ as Aishwarya’s friend and was totally wasted. Had the roles been exchanged, she would have done a better job than Aishwarya. Her award-winning role was from the movie ‘Amar Bhuvan’.

Ranvir Shorey :

He started his career as a VJ in V channel. Right from ‘Freaky Chakra’ to ‘Bheja Fry’ to ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’, he has proved to be a good comedian. His role as the desperate new-married husband in ‘Honeymoon Travels’ was totally outstanding and deserved recognition. Recently he was seen in Chandni Chowk to China and Singh Is King

Atul Kulkarni :

He is one actor largely unknown to the masses because of his unconventional role. His most role must be that of the Vinayak Mane in ‘Page 3’ along side Konkana Sen. This actor is the recipient of 2 national awards. He started in theatre and is a well-known marathi actor. He has acted in ‘Rang De Basanti’ as a saffron brigade activist. If memory recalls, there was a movie called ‘Satta'(one of the best Raveena Tandon movies), where he acted as a grey-shaded polical mentor to Raveena. And he also acted in ‘Chandni Bar’. His marathi movie ‘Maati Maay'(The Gravekeeper’s Tale) was screened in a ‘Toronto Film Festival’. Atul is one of the most talented actors in the industry but sadly still not well-known in Bollywood. He has also acted in many regional films and his award winning role is that of Shriram Abhyankar in ‘Hey Ram’.